Don't Ignore Rectal Bleeding! Please Read This Warning.

This is good advice, but I also think we need to use common sence with this. When I have a little bit of rectal bleeding I know it's from my hemmies cause they are swollen, inflammed and hurting VERY badly. Same goes with the fissure I have now. I can feel the actual fissure, hurts really bad, then I get a few drops on the paper. This is the only time I ever get any blood whatsoever.I think if I was getting rectal bleeding without any pain or sign of it being a hemmoriod or a fissure I would be very conserned. Don't get me wrong I think we need to be aware of what's going on and have things checked out. But I know personally if I was constantly worried and ran to the doctor for extensive tests about every little pain, every little drop of blood with the hemmoriods I have I would go nuts thinking I was dying of something worse then IBS. Which also isn't going to help my symptoms much! I'm very glad to hear though that you got those removed in time!Jennifer[This message has been edited by Homebound (edited 11-13-2000).]

I want to clarify my symptoms so I won't cause a panic over every little drop of blood. I went to the doctor for my annual checkup in April of '99. I told my doctor I was seeing blood on the paper after a bowel movement but I had no external hemorroids and no pain. I was sent for a barium enema that showed nothing except diverticulum pockets which is fairly normal for people over 50. (I'm 56) Then for a flexible sigmoidscopy that found 2 small internal hemorriods that was causing the blood. About 6 months after that I started having blood that not only streaked the stool but was also entwined in it and was no longer just bright red but a darker maroon color. I didn't worry because I had no pain yet and had recently been told it was hemorriods. Then I started getting diarrhea seveal times a day with days of constipation. I still didn't worry because with IBS you get this often as you all well know. Then this past June I started having severe pain under my left rib cage lasting for several days at a time. I also got diarrhea so severely it lasted non stop for 15 days and I was bleeding quite a bit so I knew I needed more testing. After several trips to the ER for IV's to combat the dehydration the diarrhea finally stopped and I got almost back to normal except for the bleeding so I went in the last of Sept. for another BE and it showed 1 large polyp in the upper part of the sigmoid colon about 12 inches from the anus. I was then referred to my GI doc for the colonoscopy. My post above shows the results of that. Please don't let my post throw you into a panic as this is not my intention, I just want you to be aware that bleeding, minor or otherwise, is not always hemorriods or fissures and to insist on a definate diagnosis. Ater that, if there are any changes get on back to the doctor as soon as you can and have it checked out. Remember, most but not all polyp's are slow growing and not all are the type that become malignant but without removing them there is no way to be sure. I hope this is better information than I had given before. Ya'll are my best friends and I want to do everything I can to keep you healthy. I'm not shy so I will answer any questions I can to help you out and encourage you. I don't pretend to know it all as far as polyp's go but I can tell my story and hope it will encourage you to realize it's better to be safe than sorry.

Oh Carolyn, I hope I didn't come off bad with my response. I never intended too. I really apprieciate you sharing your story with us. I think it's very important for us to keep these things in the back of our minds, and be aware of what is going on with our bodies. I just wanted to make the point that people who are aware that they have hemmoriods and fissures shouldn't jump to conclusions if they are seeing a little blood. That actually I think it's quite common for fissures and hemmoriods to bleed, especially after passing hard stool. But if your having blood from higher up, with no pain and other signs of hemmies ect.. that you need to really be checked out. I agree with you 100% on that.Sorry again if I came off wrong, and again I'm VERY glad that they got to your polyps in time! That is excellent news, and if I were you I would be celebrating! It's down right scary to think of what would have happened if they didn't find it time! Did they happen to know why they grew so fast? 18 months is really quick I would think! Keep in good health and make sure you keep getting checked out okay?Jennifer [This message has been edited by Homebound (edited 11-13-2000).]

Great explanations, Carolyn! I also am thankful for colonoscopies. I've had 2 pre-C polyps removed so far during the past 13 months. I was never given a number for the stage; was just told they were both definitely pre-C. However, I believe the first p. was small to medium in size, then the latest was tiny.My doc's office told me that some people grow them much faster than other people do. One patient has to come in every 6 months to get them removed; that's sure not the norm. I am supposed to come back in 3 years.My symptoms -- My polyps were smaller than Carolyn's. However, I still had some symptoms, at least with the first. First, there was the bowel irregularity; can be hard to tell it from IBS. Later on, I had some lower-abdominal pain that seemed different from my other earlier GI pain. The most distinctive symptom for me was nausea, slowly getting worse and worse until the polyp removal. Not sure if I had blood or not; I think it can sometimes be hard to see. My father, who had several polyps removed a month after I did, also had nausea, plus IBS-like bowel irregularity.brksmom -- Personally, if I were you, I'd call the nurse at your doc's office and ask when you should next come in. You probably have nothing to worry about, but why not ask?I recently had a fair amount of rectal bleeding myself. However, it ceased after 2 days, plus I'd recently had my colonoscopy, so I must have, or have had, a fissure or something. Question everyone: Can [some] fissures heal up relatively quickly? [This message has been edited by HipJan (edited 11-14-2000).]

Patty, looks like polyps are something else we have in common! My doc insists that I can wait 3 years til my next colonoscopy (though I wouldn't mind it being earlier myself), but I will keep watching "things." I know there are different guidelines as to how long people with polyps can wait for their colonoscopies. But I agree that brksmom should contact the doc's office.[This message has been edited by HipJan (edited 11-14-2000).]